Effects of food restriction on the periodicity of corticosteroids in plasma and on monoamine concentrations in discrete brain nuclei.

The concentrations of plasma corticosteroids and of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin in microdissected brain regions were measured at 08.00, 12.00 and 20.00 h in male rats fed ad libitum and in rats whose food intake was restricted to 09.30-11.30 h. In ad libitum fed animals, plasma corticosteroids were lowest at 08.00 and highest at 20.00 h. As demonstrated previously, restriction of food availability was associated with appearance of a peak in corticosteroids at 08.00 h. In ad libitum fed animals, serotonin and dopamine concentrations in the median eminence were higher at 20.00 than at 08.00 h. Restriction of food availability significantly decreased the levels of these neurotransmitters at 20.00 h. In the paraventricular nucleus, amygdala, and hippocampus of ad libitum fed animals, serotonin levels were lower at 20.00 than at 08.00 or 12.00 h. In food-shifted animals, this pattern was reversed so that lowest levels of serotonin occured at 08.00 and markedly elevated levels were observed at 12.00 and 20.00 h. No changes were noted in norepinephrine content of the median eminence or paraventricular nucleus of ad libitum fed or food restricted animals. These results indicate that the shift in the periodicity of corticosteroid secretion produced by a restricted feeding regime is accompanied by changes in the periodicity of neurotransmitter concentrations in specific regions of the brain, and that such patterns are dissimilar in different regions.